In a Blind Search Test, Which Do You Choose?

Our annual ACSI rating of search engines and portals is coming up next Tuesday, and in doing some research about the measured companies, I found this article in TechCrunch about the Blind Search Tool.

Here's the theory: Google gets a lot of credit just for being Google. If you take Yahoo or Bing search results and put a Google logo at the top, people will like it better, but when you compare head-to-head functionality, Bing and Yahoo hold their own. Google's market share hovers around 70% of searches, but in a blind test of which search results are actually the ones you're looking for, people choose Google as the best 44% of the time, Bing 33% of the time, and Yahoo 23% of the time.

This kind of distribution would suggest that there is room for more than one search engine. I did the test four times and chose Bing twice and Google twice in the blind test, requiring a tie-breaker, in which I chose Yahoo. Pretty representative of the numbers above, actually.

It is interesting to look at those results and compare them to the market share numbers.

Which do you choose in the blind search test? And is it time for a Facebook quiz: what search engine result are you? (in other words, enough with the Facebook quizzes, already!) 

Comments

[Garbage can kitchen]

I think people overlook the impact of ads. Highly relevant ads give me more confidence in the engine’s results in addition to being quite helpful.Poor ads really detract from the entire experience.

[Winn golf grips]

I have tried using yahoo and it seems that google is more relevant, but yahoo was usually average.Yeah, very interesting. I searched for something and Google gave me the best result after voting.

[Baby gate stairs]

Of course he makes sense. If you search “New balance running shoes” and you see ads for New Balance running shoes you’re going to give that SERP a little more cred than one that shows ads for ACAI Berry Diet and Get rid of your ugly yellow teeth.

[A line skirt]

Last night, I began playing around on BlindSearch, which returns results from Google, Yahoo! and Bing, but doesn't tell you which one is which. Then, you vote for the results you like the test and it reveals which search engine you chose.

[Horse trailer parts]

Have you tried out this blind search tool yet? It provides results from Google, Yahoo and Bing in three columns but doesn't tell you which column is which.

[Ice cream carts]

I have tried using yahoo and it seems that google is more relevant, but yahoo was usually average.

[Gas can spout]

You vote for the results you like the test and it reveals which search engine you chose.

[Wise boat seats]

I found so many interesting stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! Keep up the excellent work.

[Motorcycle wheel chock]

The system has many flaws that I know about already, the primary one of interest is the lack of localisation.

[Toy hauler trailers]

With BlindSearch all searches are going through the US as US searches.

[Motorcycle tank bags]

I believe that people overlook the impact of ads. highly relevant ads to give me more confidence in the engine results in addition to being quite ad helpful.Poor reality to the detriment of the whole experience.

[Pull behind mower]

I've tried using yahoo and google seems to be more relevant, but usually average.Yeah yahoo, very interesting. Google I searched for something and gave me the best results after voting.

[Prank call voices]

Of course that makes sense. If you search for "New Balance tennis shoes" and see ads for New Balance running shoes that you're going to SERP a bit more credibility than ads showing an Acai Berry Diet and get rid of ugly yellow teeth.

[Wooden candle holder]

Last night, I started playing in BlindSearch, which returns results from Google, Yahoo and Bing, but does not tell which is which. Then vote for that as the test results and an indication of which search engine you chose.

[Pet monkeys for sale]

Have you tried the blind scan tool yet? Provides results from Google, Yahoo and Bing in three columns, but does not tell which column is which.

[Wall unit furniture]

This type of distribution suggests that there is room for the search engine more than one.